The present invention relates generally to apparatus for handling and packaging articles such as can ends, and more specifically to apparatus capable of receiving a continuous flow of such articles, counting and separating out a group or stack of a predetermined number of articles and packaging the individual groups or stacks into individual packages.
Most users of cans, such as canneries, breweries and soft drink bottlers do not manufacture the containers, but rather purchase the components from manufacturers who specialize in the fabrication of these components. Generally speaking, these can components include can bodies having at least one open end, and the can ends that are employed to close the bodies subsequent to the filling or canning operation. The can ends are packaged, shipped and handled separately from the can bodies, and the usual practice is to package and ship the ends in elongate kraft paper bags. The number of can ends per package varies depending upon the requirements of the end user. By way of example, for typical end users, each filled bag or package contains 300 or 600 can ends. In the quantities used in typical beverage operations (i.e., in the millions), the bottler finds it extremely important that an accurate count of ends be maintained in the packages.
Moreover, in the fabrication operation, typical can end fabrication machinery produces can ends at the rate of about eighteen hundred to thirty-six hundred per minute. Accordingly, it is important that the machinery for counting and separating the ends into groups and packaging the same in kraft paper bags operate as rapidly as possible to keep pace with the fabrication equipment. As a related matter, the can ends must be handled in a continuous flow or stream and thereupon counted and separated with the ends in facewise nested engagement throughout the handling thereof up to and including the bagging operation. Should the groups or stacks of ends begin to separate, one or more ends may overturn which can lead to serious disruption of a high speed, high quantity packaging operation. For example, the overturning or dislodging of but a single end can result in a jamming or disrupting of automated equipment, leading to considerable down time. One such dislodged end may cause an entire stack or group of 300 or more ends to become dislodged and, quite literally, be thrown in every direction, thus seriously disrupting the bagging operation.
The problems and need for providing apparatus where can ends can be reliably packaged at high speed and with accurate count have been recognized and met, for example, in prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,948 and 4,537,010, both assigned to Fleetwood Systems, Inc., the owner of the present application. Reference is invited to these prior patents for further discussion of the prior art problems and the manner in which these problems are solved by the novel equipment described therein.
While the equipment described and claimed in the above-referenced patents has met with considerable commercial success, there remains room for further improvement. With ever-increasing speeds of operation of can end fabricating equipment, yet higher speeds of operation of the associated counting, separating and bagging equipment is required. Heretofore it has been the practice to employ several bagging lines to service a single end press or end fabrication line. However, the bagging equipment is relatively complex and expensive. Moreover, each bagging station or bagging line requires a separate operator which adds further to the expense of operation in this fashion. As a related matter, bagging equipment heretofore employed generally operates on a single incoming stream of can ends. Thus, in the event of any slow down or disruption of this incoming stream, the bagging components may stand idle over substantial periods of time. Given the expense of purchasing, operating and maintaining the bagging equipment, it is desirable to minimize such idle time of the equipment. On the other hand, the packaging capabilities of the bagging equipment may sometimes exceed the ability of a single incoming stream to supply successive groups of can ends for packaging.
Some improvement is also possible in the speed and accuracy of handling of associated bags, and in supplying the individual bags from a magazine or other source of supply to the bag filling equipment. Given the speed and accuracy of the bag filling equipment, it is important to provide a relatively reliable and rapid supply of empty bags to the equipment and to efficiently and quickly remove filled bags and replace the same with empty bags to insure an optimum speed of operation.